BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The number of seized drug addicts hit 7,745 last year in Beijing, up 3.2 percent year on year, said the Beijing Public Security Bureau on Sunday.

The growth rate of seized drug addicts slowed down but the growth momentum continued in Beijing, said Tao Jing, deputy director of the bureau at a news briefing.

Over the past decade, the number of drug addicts has grown at an average annual rate of about 10 percent in Beijing. At the end of 2017, the capital had 36,000 registered drug addicts.

The abuse of new types of drugs such as khat and "laughing gas", is rising. In recent years, Beijing police have confiscated more than one tonne of khat.

Since 2017, the capital has busted 1,222 drug criminal cases, according to the bureau.